Child's Play
by PencilGirl92
Summary: From the time of its firstborn, to the moment of Link's quest, Kokiri Forest stood as a symbol of Farore's nurturance to Hyrule. This is the story of Kokiri Forest before and after Link's journey through time.
1. Chapter 1

Golden rays dropped down lazily through the treetops, falling into the misty stream that flowed peacefully through the quiet forest, where only a few flowers grew amongst the tender grass. One single tree stood out among the rest, an old tree that had seen much in its lifetime, that had been there since the forest's creation, and that was its watchful eye. It was called the Great Tree and later known as the Great Deku Tree as the plants in the forest began to be known as Deku.

The morning was beginning to shine more brightly, and the Great Tree reached out his branch, a small branch that had something laying upon it. It was a sleeping child, no older than a day, growing by the light of the sun as if a plant itself. "The firstborn of Kokiri Forest," the tree stated simply. "Thou shalt be great, little one." He rocked the sleeping babe tenderly as Farore's wind rustled the leaves around them, creating music so soft and pleasant.

A small fairy hovered before her leader, bowing slightly at the waist. "I shall protect this child with all my might. I will make sure to keep the little one happy and safe."

"Very good, my servant. Thou shalt make an excellent guardian fairy, I am certain." Such blessings surrounded the small sapling of a child, the blessing of the goddess, the great one, and the guardian, for this little firstborn child would indeed become great. This child was the only Kokiri to be born among the branches of their father, and the only one that was promised… "Thou shalt be a hero, a protector, a leader…"

…

"Lead the way, Saria!"

A little girl bounced across the stream on stones that seemed to grow out of the bottom of the water. She was small, with big sky-blue eyes and tiny green ponytails that danced as she jumped across. She wore a sleeveless green tunic with a darker green strip of cloth tied around the waste, right where the tunic formed into shorts. She was barefoot, just like her friend that followed behind. He wore a green outfit as well. His was long sleeves and long pants. His eyes were equally blue and more round. His cheeks were round and covered in large orange freckles, and his messy auburn-orange hair covered his forehead and pointed Hyrulian ears.

The children's fairies followed their respective child closely. Chalis, the fairy of the girl, had a pink tint to her common white glow. She sometimes felt that she was overprotective of Saria, who she knew was wise beyond her years. But at the same time, she worried constantly about the girl, for she was an excitable and adventurous child who was rarely afraid of the unknown.

Tella, the other fairy, was a whitish green, and she was charged with the task of watching over the boy, Mido. Mido was often a handful for Tella, who usually preferred not to interfere. She wanted only the best for the child, but sometimes her decisions with him would be for the worse. He was a troublemaker, she could already tell, but she didn't fear his selfishness, at least not at such a young age. Besides, she would tell herself, Saria was a great influence on him.

"Hey, Saria! Hold up!" Mido was on his knees, looking at a bud.

Saria stopped and plopped down next to her friend. She scrunched up her face, "What is that? A weed?" The bud hardly looked like much. The outer layer was a rusty, unfriendly brown. It had stripes of yellow in it, but the coloring actually made it more unattractive than beautiful.

"No! It's not a weed!" Mido looked at her. "It's the Deku Mask Flower."

"Mask flower?"

"_Deku_ Mask Flower."

"It doesn't look like a flower, Mido," Saria shook her head.

"You'll see. I'll show you it when it blossoms… You'll be amazed!"

"I can't wait!" Saria stood. "Now come on!"

The two children were getting closer and closer to the Lost part of the woods. "Saria, stop!" Chalis called.

"Aw, Chalis! Please, let me go in!"

"Absolutely not! You'll get lost and turn into a skull kid!"

"No, I won't! Listen!"

The four of them tilted their heads.

"I hear music!" Mido shouted.

"Sh!" Saria hushed. "Yeah… It's the music of the forest. Isn't it beautiful?"

The music calmed Chalis, who agreed, "That's the way to know where you are… you follow the music to the sacred temple!"

"Yeah! Come on, Mido!"

The children continued deeper into the woods. The Lost Woods, to anyone else, was quite foreboding and often terrifying. But to Saria, she saw the beauty in everything. Even that Deku Mask Flower, which seemed anything but beautiful, she knew would soon bloom into the most beautiful flower of all the woods. She didn't doubt Mido one bit.

Mido closed his eyes and his mouth. Tella looked at Chalis, who stifled a giggle. Mido was never one to shut his mouth, so when he did, it came as a surprise to his fairy guardian. And it always seemed to happen when Saria was around. Perhaps Saria saw the beauty in him as well.

They had made it to the foot of the temple, where Saria lay by a fallen tree and closed her eyes, listening to the melody of the forest. Mido straddled the trunk of the tree, which was already starting to deteriorate into the ground. "Hey, Saria! Check this out!" He didn't stay seated long. He ran over to a tree, jumping up at the last second to try to snatch a branch. He couldn't reach it.

"What are you doing?" Saria opened her eyes and giggled. "You're not big enough yet, Mido!"

Mido scowled and stomped his foot. "Tella!"

"What do you need, Mido?" the fairy quickly asked.

"I want that stick up there! I wanna make a slingshot!"

"You have a slingshot already, Mido," Saria stood up and walked toward him.

"I wanna make my own!" he whined.

"Here." Saria put a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. "Give me a boost."

Mido knelt on the ground and held out his hands. Saria placed her foot in them, and Mido chanted, "One, two, three!" With a great toss, Saria sprung up to the branch and grasped it. She used one hand to break off a piece and dropped it down to Mido.

"Now you have to catch me!" she laughed.

"Wait, what?"

Saria dropped down, landing on top of Mido, laughing so hard she was clutching her stomach.

"Saria!" Mido moaned. But he was smiling shortly after. He laughed along with her as their fairies looked at each other happily. The two of them were best friends since they could both toddle. And the fairies foresaw a friendship that would go deeper than any between the other Kokiri children.

…

Mido aimed carefully at his freshly painted red target. He pulled back the elastic vine, setting the stone perfectly between his fingers. He closed an eye, stuck out his tongue, and fired. "Bullseye!" he cheered.

Saria smiled. "Good job, Mido. You're getting better and better at that!"

"But of course!" Mido winked. "I can only get better, because I'm the best!"

The two of them were sitting on the side of the store, where Mido had painted a red target on the wood just seconds before. He had collected small pebbles from the creek that ran nearby and had all but begged Saria to watch his target practice. Saria, of course, had no problem watching Mido. She stretched her legs out on the grass and sat, holding the most beautiful flower in all the forest.

This was right after they left the Lost Woods on their tenth day of going in. When they left, Mido had stopped her and pointed. There, sprouting from the ground, was a magnificent flower. Its petals were golden with a center of a royal purple. The edges were a sunset orange and within the gold, there were speckles of red. It was the most beautiful flower Saria had ever seen. Mido picked it from its place and handed it to her, with a smirk and a whisper, "Told you so!"

Now she held the beautiful blossom. The Deku Mask Flower… she was barely able to keep her eyes off it. It was almost enchanting to look at. "Mido…" she started.

"Huh?" Mido was examining one of his pebbles, holding it up to his eye-level, peering at it with only one eye.

"The Deku Mask Flower…"

Mido turned to her and smiled really wide, as he often did. "That's my favorite flower of all, Saria!"

"Is that so?"

"You know it!"

Saria laughed. "Then why did you give it to me?"

"I knew you'd like it!" Mido shrugged. Tella fluttered proudly beside him. Saria always brought out the best in this child. She wondered if the little girl knew that.

…

Any other moment, Mido was very much a troublemaker. One could find him pulling pranks, especially on the Know-It-All brothers, as he called them. Domi and Doti were twins, both having long orangish hair that was straight as the tree trunks of the forest.

They were pretty smart, if Mido had to admit it. Their fairy guardian, a white and yellow fairy by the name of Yearla, had been a teacher to them as well as a parent. She had taught them everything about the forest, and even some things about Hyrule beyond their sanctuary. She was the first to speak of the dreadful idea that Kokiri children would die if they ever left the forest, as the Great Deku Tree had told the fairies. None questioned her.

Then there was Fado, the little girl with short, puffy curls tied up in a large round ponytail at the top of her head. Her pale orange and white guardian, Glina, could usually be seen sitting in the nest that was her puffy blonde hair. Fado was usually able to counter Mido with her own sass and sarcasm. She was highly energetic and bubbly, an amazing foil to Saria, who was normally calm and quiet.

There were, of course, many other children in the forest, girls and boys and their guardian fairies. Every fairy had a child to watch, and Yearla had both twins. However, there was one fairy that did not have a child: the fairy servant of the Great Deku Tree, Navi. It was an honor to directly serve the Great Tree, as many of the fairies did before their children were born. Many of the guardians, such as Chalis and Yearla, felt it a greater honor to raise the Kokiri children. They would forever be children, they were told, and therefore, they determined, forever be learning and playing, forever be innocent and protected in the forest.

Every fairy had that opportunity to protect and guide a child. Every fairy… including that different one, the servant one, the bluish one, Navi. Her story came when the children were a bit older. She discovered a child of her own that she had to help. Not only would she guide him and give him advice, but she would lead him to his destiny, the destiny that would save all of Hyrule, not just their secluded Kokiri Forest.


	2. Chapter 2

Navi fluttered through the forest, out of the grove of the Great Tree. She hurried fast as she could, shouting to all in the forest, "Hurry! Hurry! The Great Deku Tree summons you!"

"All of us?" Mido asked, adjusting his new green pointy cap. He was now taller, as were all the children. They had taken awhile to grow, as the Kokiri children were expected to, but they had all grown taller in the past several years. Mido had not quite grown more mature, as the others had. He still held on to that slingshot, and he still was never contradicted by his fairy guardian who wanted only for Mido to be happy.

Saria was right behind him. She now had her hair in lower pigtails. She also wore a headband stretched above her bangs. In her hands, she clutched a smooth wooden ocarina. That ocarina was a recent present from Mido. He had given it to her so that she could play the song of the forest on it, which he dubbed "Saria's Song."

When he gave that ocarina to her, it was not a special occasion. He had been working on it for months, and he couldn't wait to give it to her. Tella had been happy to help him create it. She even asked Yearla about the design of it, to make sure it worked perfectly. And it did. He had tested every note, and the sound was beautiful.

Saria's eyes lit up when Mido showed her the gift. "Oh, Mido!" she gasped. "An ocarina! You made this?"

Mido nodded his head excitedly. "Just for you, Saria!"

"Wow…"

"Now you can play that song from the Lost Woods. You can make it your song!"

"I love it! I'll cherish it forever! Thank you!"

She hadn't been without it since, much like the inseparability of Mido and his slingshot, only more meaningful. Now, raising her mouth from the instrument, which she had been playing at the time, she looked up at Navi. "The Great Deku Tree wants to see us all? Why?" she asked.

The Great Tree rarely summoned the children to his grove. But today, they were summoned, all of them, for there would be an additional member of their family.

The children circled around the trunk of the Great Deku Tree. They peered, puzzled, at a tiny baby wrapped in scraps of cloth. "My children. This is your new brother. Your kin. He is a new child of the Kokiri Forest." The Great Deku Tree spoke slowly and with an air of wisdom. He was, after all, the guardian spirit of the forest. However, he was somewhat lying. This boy was not kin. He was not Kokiri. In ten years, he would become a great hero, though the Great Tree did not yet know this part, as his dreams had not yet begun to haunt him. For now, he knew this boy needed a home, so he provided it. The boy may have been Hylian, but he would be raised Kokiri. However, he would always be a 'link' to the outside world, the world that the beings of the forest feared. "Link is your brother, raise him well."

The children were excited to. Saria was the most happy to take the child. She was the one to lift the sleeping babe and carry him out of the grove, while the other children surrounded her. Mido, however, lagged behind. He couldn't push his way past the others, try as he might. So he growled angrily in the back of the line that left the Deku Tree's home.

"The boy will be alright, Navi. He will grow as a Kokiri."

"Indeed, Great Deku Tree."

"He will one day have a great destiny before him… perhaps as great a destiny as my firstborn will soon hold."

"Aye, Great Deku Tree."

"But for now… He is Kokiri."

"Yes, Great Deku Tree."

…

"You call yourself a Kokiri?" Mido scowled over the little baby, who was fast asleep in his little wooden crib. "You can't even stay awake for an hour!"

"Mido," Saria laughed. "He's just a baby! He can't do much yet."

"Whatever." Mido crossed his arms.

"Don't worry, Mido," Saria smiled. "When he grows up, we're all going to be the best of friends! You'll see!"

And it was all downhill from there…

One day, Mido knocked on Saria's doorway. She did not answer. He pounded harder and harder. "Mido!" Tella urged. "You'll break your fingers!" Mido wouldn't stop pounding.

"Where is she?!" he asked, annoyed.

"Why don't you look elsewhere? She's obviously not home!"

"I already looked in the Lost Woods! She's not there! Where else could she be?" He leaned against the doorframe and sighed. Then, he saw Doti and Domi carrying large wooden boards between them. He recognized the log from which that came. "Saria's spot!" he gasped. Those boards were from the fallen tree in the Lost Woods. "Hey! Know-It-Alls! Where do you think you're going with that?!" He shouted as he followed the twins. That's when he found himself at a large tree. Saria was giving orders to make a treehouse! "Saria!" Mido ran down the hill to her. "What are you doing?"

"Mido! Check it out!" the little girl nearly bounced up and down. "We're making a house for Link!"

"Link can't climb that!" Mido pointed at the tree.

"When he's older, he'll do fine! We're making a ladder now. You know that fallen tree in the Lost Woods? I pulled it out just for Link! I got Domi and Doti to get it from behind my house."

"Saria!" Mido nearly shouted. "Who cares about the baby? You and I were supposed to hang out today! You told me you'd come over my house to play—"

"Oh no! I'm so sorry, Mido. I was just so excited about Link's house! I lost track of time. He's such a cutie, isn't he?" She looked down at the baby, who was tugging at some grass.

"Sure…" Mido grumbled, looking down at the little baby. Tella looked cautiously at Mido. She was worried about his reaction. "It's not fair, Saria!"

"I'll make it up to you, I promise." Saria handed him some rope. "In the meantime, wanna help?"

Mido just stared down at the rope.

"It's so fun, Mido! We're all having a great time! You—"

Mido threw down the rope and stomped off, back to his house.

"M-Mido… please…" Tella tried to speak out the whole way back. She sat on his shoulder and patted his cheek. "Mido… you didn't have to do that…"

"Yes I did! I can't believe her!"

"It was an honest mistake, Mido. There's a new child now in the forest, there are certain things that will change."

"Shuddup! I don't like change! And that kid's barely a kid of the forest! I mean, where's his fairy? He can't possibly be Kokiri!"

Tella struggled to speak out. She always found herself holding back, especially when Mido was angry. She wanted him to be happy. She didn't want to fight against him. She didn't know how to guide him without lecturing or scolding, so she usually let him have his way, have his tantrums, and have what he wanted. But right now, what he wanted was Saria, and she could not get her for him.

"Mido…" she whispered. "I'm sure Saria would love for you to help her with Link's new home. Please… why don't you give it a chance. You'll have a great time!"

"A great time?" Mido suddenly perked up. He grinned. "You bet I will."

…

Saria was glad to see Mido back. She handed him the rope again and instructed him to climb up the tree and tie back loose branches and leaves so that they did not have to chop them out of the way. It was an easy task, she figured, so Mido would be done quickly.

However, Mido took a long time. "Mido!" she called, trying to see up into the treehouse. The twins were done with the ladder, and right now, they were building a porch-like structure at the edge. Fado had finished making the curtain for the doorway, and Remi, a girl with bright orange hair, had finished stuffing a mattress full of moss and grass. Her purple-white fairy, Hopah, hovered over her, watching proudly. "Mido! We've got to come up there soon!"

Mido peeked out of the doorway and gave a thumbs-up. "What took him so long?" Remi groaned.

"Who knows?" Saria shrugged.

Remi and Fado climbed up the ladder, passed the twins, and stepped inside. When they stepped, they pulled the rope, which activated a sack of cold creek water to be flung from the slingshot and hit the two girls, making them wet and shivering. "Ack!" they screamed, running around the house.

Saria's ears perked. "What happened?!"

"MIDO!" the girls screamed together.

A cackle from the perpetrator followed their outburst. Mido swung from another rope at the upper branches and landed by Saria. "I was working hard," he shrugged.

"Mido! That wasn't nice!" Saria scolded.

Tella winced. At least someone was willing to scold her child.

"Mido! Apologize to Fado and Remi!"

Mido pouted, "No way! That was fun! I'm not apologizing for something I'm not sorry for!"

"Jerk!" Fado shouted.

"I can't believe you!" Remi growled.

Mido kept right on laughing.

Suddenly, the baby started crying. Saria left Mido quickly to tend to the infant boy.

"Saria! Come on! It was a joke!"

"Even Link seems to know that something bad just happened!" Saria retorted.

Mido tightened his fist and exhaled. "Fine, whatever! I had a good time!" And he stomped away again. He didn't leave his house for the rest of the day. He just sat on his bed, staring at his bare feet. He snatched off his hat and threw it on the floor, burying his head in his pillow to try to sleep. Tella knew that he was upset, but she didn't know how to confront it. She sighed. She was shaping out to be a terrible guardian fairy.

Meanwhile, Saria continued to build Link's house. "One day, you'll be big enough to live here, kid," she whispered in his ear. "And we'll be good friends, I know it. I'll visit you every day, Link! And we'll have many adventures together. I just know it!"

That night, Saria slept at Link's new treehouse, with his crib beside her. She closed her eyes smiling. She could feel the potential friendship for them. She wondered if Link could feel it too.


	3. Chapter 3

Link toddled through the trees, holding his breath, minding his footsteps. The other Kokiri ran out, climbing trees and tucking under fallen ones. Link made his way to the stream and waded through it, running toward a larger tree, the kind that was a house. He grasped onto a knot in the wood and pulled himself up to grab a small branch and hoist himself up farther, into the leaves of the tree.

He was just in time, for right then, Saria called, "Ready or not, here I come!"

The little boy stifled a giggle and waited.

He heard the curtain at the doorway open and peered down to see Mido. He was followed, as always, by Tella. Link had often wondered about the fairies that followed the other children. Perhaps he would receive his when he was older.

Mido was another curiosity for the young boy. He never seemed to pay Link much mind. The other Kokiri always greeted him with a smile and often with a chuckle, but Mido was different. He ignored the child, even though his fairy gave a small, happy wave. It was strange, and he longed so much for this boy's attention. Someday, he would earn that attention, he determined. Right now, however, he was hiding from Saria.

Mido was mumbling something incoherent to Tella. Link couldn't understand, and neither could Tella, but in a different way. "Mido, what are you thinking?! You can't do that!" she cried.

"I can do what I want! I'm the boss!"

Tella stopped short. "Mido… please…"

But Mido would have none of that. He took his slingshot and hurriedly collected some stones by the creek.

"Mido…" Tella tried.

He put the stones in a small bag that he had wrapped around his arm by a drawstring and ran back to the house, where Link's focus was no longer on him, but on where Saria could possibly be. So Link didn't notice as Mido climbed up his house. He didn't notice as he took the same route his tiny feet and hands found. He didn't notice… until he felt Mido's breath down his neck.

"What do you think you're doing, pipsqueak?!" Mido growled.

Link turned in shock. "M-Mido!"

"That's '_Great_ Mido' to you, twerp! What are you doing on my house?"

"H-Hiding… w-we were playing a game…" Link was terrified of Mido, to tell the truth. Mido would always speak to him harshly, if he spoke to him at all.

"A game?"

"Saria's 'it.' We're playing hide-and-seek."

"S-Saria is…" Mido trailed off, then his eyes narrowed. Link could have sworn their blue color turned a little green. "Get off my house!"

Link quickly began to climb down.

"Go, kid!"

"Mido…" Tella said. "Let him take his time."

But it was too late. Link lost his footing and fell. Mido could only stare down at him. The child was crying on the ground.

Mido hurried down, "Shaddup, you wimp! You're gonna get me in trouble!"

But Link continued to wail.

"Shut your mouth!" Mido was beginning to get anxious.

Saria hurried over. "What happened?" she knelt beside Link.

"The kid fell from the tree and he had a problem about it… Stupid kid can't even climb a tree!"

"Link, are you alright?"

Link sniffled. He was alright. There were no serious injuries from the fall.

"It's okay…" She looked at Mido harshly. "It takes awhile to learn to climb a tree…"

Mido shrugged, "It's always been second nature to me!" He crossed his arms. "Yet another example of how this kid is oddly different."

"The Great Deku Tree says he is kin, and so he is kin!"

Fado was quick to find the drama. "If you ask me," she started matter-of-factly.

"No one's asking you!" Mido retorted.

"If you ask me," she continued, "I think Mido pushed him!"

"No I didn't!" Mido glared at Fado.

"Mido…" Saria looked at him.

"I didn't push him, Saria!" Mido insisted truthfully.

Saria peered at him carefully. Link had stopped crying and sniffling, so she turned to him. "Link, did Mido push you?"

Mido's heart shattered.

"No," Link shook his head.

"Alright." Saria stood with Link, and they and Fado walked away.

Mido tightened his fists, "She didn't believe me…"

"She wanted to be sure, Mido," Tella assured him.

"She didn't believe me!" Mido kicked at the dirt. "Well… if it's a lying bully she thinks I am, I shouldn't disappoint her!"

"Mido!"

"That stupid baby is all she cares about anymore! They played hide-and-go-seek without me, Tella! I'm sick of being left in the dust! I'm the 'Great Mido,' and I'll get the respect I deserve! The others will fear me! I'll be their ultimate boss! Whatever I say, goes!"

"Mido…"

But the boy would not be rebutted. He had always been a troublemaker. He had always had a short temper. He had always tried too hard, and often in the wrong ways, to be the center of attention. Something told Tella that he would be successful in his aims, but she knew that would not be a good thing.

…

Chalis hovered over Link as Saria wrapped a bandage around his leg. They were in Saria's home right now. The fairy watched Saria tend to Link diligently. "You alright, Link?" she asked.

"Yeah," Link nodded. "Thanks, Chalis." How Link wished that he had a fairy.

"It's too bad we didn't get to finish the game," Saria started. "I would have never found you up in that tree house!"

Link smiled. "Really?"

"Really! That was a great hiding place! I would have never thought to look there!"

Link laughed. "Am I the best at hide-and-go-seek?"

"Sure are!" Saria and Link smiled and giggled. They soon stood and left the house to wade in the creek.

Chalis could have sworn she had seen that scene before, but she couldn't place it. Shrugging, she followed the children out and laughed as they laughed and splashed each other with the cold water.

…

Tella looked out Mido's window and could see the children in the distance. She remembered back when Mido and Saria were far younger, way before Link came. Mido had gotten his leg cut on a rock he tripped over. Saria had brought him to her home and wrapped a bandage around his leg. "It's too bad we didn't finish…" Saria had been saying. "I would have beat you!"

Mido had laughed, "Yeah, right, Saria! No one's as fast as me!"

"I am!"

"Are not!"

"That's right… I'm _faster_!"

"Oh, we can still race!"

"First, a wade through the creek!"

"Alright, then you're on!"

The two of them had left her house to wade in the creek. Tella and Chalis had followed them out and laughed as they laughed and splashed each other with the cold water.

Tella remembered this, and she was sure Mido did too. For he watched behind her and breathed hard and choppily, with tightened fists and a clenched jaw. She couldn't blame him for feeling left out.

"Why don't you go down there with them?" Tella asked. "They're sure to let you play with them."

"I want nothing to do with the new kid!" Mido scowled.

"Come on, Mido. Saria can be friends with the both of you."

Mido turned away and sat on his bed. There was no reasoning with him. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, but not in a way that brought Tella hope. It instead brought her dread.

"Mido…" she started.

He picked up his slingshot and ran out the door.

"Mido!"

He climbed up his tree and grabbed something from his pouch. It was not a rock, but a seed. He placed it on the band and pulled back. The seed would certainly be less hard than the rock, so Tella didn't know exactly what he was doing. That was, until she realized where he aimed the seed. It would be sharper than a rock, and he aimed under a tree branch. The branch held a spider web, where a rather large spider was busily spinning its silk.

Kokiri were terrified of spiders. They never wanted to bother one, and usually, if they didn't, the spider wouldn't bother them.

But Mido was about to bother it. He let the seed go flying , cutting through the silky string, making the spider fall down, down, right atop Link's hair. Saria and Link both screamed. Mido burst out laughing so hard, he nearly fell from his perch. Link dunked his head under the water to get the spider off, and the two children ran out of the creek to get away from it.

"Mido!" Saria shouted, seeing Mido laughing in his tree.

Tella shook her head, "Mido… you're doing more harm than good…"

"More harm for who?" he asked. "I'm having a great time!"

And so it was to be with Mido.


	4. Chapter 4

Mido walked silently through the tunnel that led to the Great Deku Tree's grove. He had been summoned by the father, and he believed it to be a great honor. "Maybe he is finally going to acknowledge my greatness!" Mido had exclaimed when Navi gave him the news.

Tella had many thoughts swimming through her own mind. _What could the Great Tree possibly want from Mido now?_

When they got to the tree, Mido burst out, "Hi, Great Deku Tree! What can I do for you?"

"Give me thine weaponry," the tree cut right to the point.

"What?"

"Your slingshot!" Navi explained. "Hand it over!"

"What?!" Mido growled. "Why?"

The Great Tree spoke again, "Thou hast done wrong by the forest, wrong by me, and wrong by thine kin. Thou wilt take this punishment upon thee. Giveth thy weapon to me."

Mido knew he couldn't argue with the Great Deku Tree. He clutched tight to the slingshot in his hand and placed it on the ground as tears filled his eyes. "It's not fair."

"Tis the only way I can guarantee that thou shalt not misuse such an object again."

Without another word, Mido left the grove.

The slingshot stayed within the Great Deku Tree for several years, up until Link took it from him to defeat the queen arachnid inside.

…

Several years more had passed within the forest. Not much had changed with the Kokiri children, but Link had grown quickly. Saria now wore her hair down, but still with a headband across, and she also wore a green sweater beneath her tunic. Mido had ripped his long-sleeved shirt into sleeveless and his pants had worn down to ending at his shin. Fado had moved her hair to pigtails, and the know-it-all brothers had let their hair grow long in front of their eyes. Changes were happening, yes, but not so much as Link. He had quickly grown out of his tunic year by year.

Mido was sure to always point out his differences, and one day, he went too far. "You'll never be one of us!" he determined.

Link's heart plummeted. Mido's words seemed to continue ringing in his ears. _You'll never be one of us!_ He had no fairy. He had no natural connection to the forest as Mido and Saria did.

But he wasn't that different. He was adventurous, like Saria. He enjoyed a good joke, like Mido. He loved to climb, like Fado. He loved to learn, like the twins. He loved to look at the forest's beauty, like Remi. He loved to swim, like Tiso. He loved to dance, like Lafa.

So why was he so different when he was so similar? Why did Mido shun him? Why did a fairy not find him? He heard about Navi, the fairy that announced his birth. Why was she not his guardian? And why did he seem so much bigger than his friends? The other Kokiri were small and thin, but Link was stouter, and he even grew fast, as Mido pointed out to him.

He sighed. He felt tears forming in his eyes, so he hurried up the ladder, into his home, before anyone could see his reddening eyes and puffy face. Though all in the forest were children, he had not seen a single tear fall from his friends.

When he was through crying, he remembered what Saria had told him recently. She had let him in on a secret. She had told him that when she feels upset or bored, she makes her way to the Lost Woods. However, Link knew the rumors about those woods, about turning into a skull kid and being lost forever. But Saria's words made him bold. And so, he made his way into the wood.

The music echoed against the trees, just as she said it would. Link wandered deeper and deeper. He had no fairy to speak against the idea, and he had no fairy to guide him. This was the type of child who could easily get lost in the uninviting forest, but he followed Saria's song, so he was alright.

Saria greeted him cheerily. "You came to my haven! Welcome!"

Link smiled and sat with her, "What is that you're playing?"

She handed him the small instrument. "It's my ocarina. I come here to play it every day."

"It's beautiful… the sound it makes is amazing!"

Saria smiled, for she had requested Mido to make another ocarina, and she planned to give it to Link.

Link sat and listened to her play until the sun began to set.

…

The next day, after weeks of nightmares, Link's destiny was about to show itself. He was summoned to the Great Deku Tree, much to the dismay of Mido, but much to the pride of Saria. He learned of a curse placed on the guardian, and after journeying in, he learned that he could not save the tree. When he died, Link knew that his last words were important. So his journey would begin. He would reach the world outside his home.

Link only knew the forest. He only knew Lafa at the foot of the small hill, Fado above him in the trees connected by rope bridges, and Remi sitting atop the shop. He only knew Tiso's sales in that shop. He only knew what the know-it-all brothers told him and what Mido spoke against. And he only knew the close friendship with Saria. How could he leave his home?

"Hey!" Navi nudged him. "Are you ready to find the princess of destiny?"

"Yeah…" Link mumbled. And he began to leave the forest, being stopped only once, by Saria's tears.

…

Mido stared at the tree. That was all it was now, another dead tree in this dim forest. "_He_ did this…" he clenched his fists, trembling.

"Mido, try to understand…" but even Tella didn't understand.

"I always knew he was no good!"

…

Mido ran through the woods, announcing the tragedy of their guardian, blaming Link for his death. The others heard this rumor but did not believe it. They knew their guardian was dead, but they doubted Link had very much to do with it. Mido hated him, and nothing was stopping him from spreading lies. Saria certainly was not a barrier. She left frequently to her "secret place" in the Lost Woods. There, she played the ocarina.

It was three days after Link had returned for a short time when Mido decided to finally approach her. "Saria?" he whispered, doing his best not to startle her.

She looked up. Her face did not show her normal smile. "What?" she asked simply.

Mido's heart fell. "Nothin'…"

Saria, seeing that he was upset, smiled cheerily for him. "Mido… I have to thank you for making the ocarina."

"Huh? Oh yeah… Anything for you, Saria."

Saria smiled.

Mido looked around. "Where is it anyway?"

Chalis winced. Tella looked at her friend curiously, then her eyes grew wide. She knew. Saria's eyes left Mido's gaze. She had wanted to thank him, but she should have expected his response. "I…" she hesitated, "gave it… to Link…"

The moment the name left her throat, Mido exploded. "What?!"

"Mido… I wanted you to make it for him! It was a gift!"

"For that no-good, rotten—"

"Now stop right there, Mido!" Saria stood. "Link was the kindest, gentlest child in this forest! He didn't need a fairy for that! Perhaps the best things we can learn under these trees are to be kind to each other and to be kind to the forest!"

"I _am_ kind to the forest! And you—" his throat felt tight, "you are… you _were_ my best friend, Saria. What happened?"

"I would ask you the same thing, Mido."

Then, there was silence. Mido left her on that stump, the very stump where she had gathered wood for Link's home. She prayed he would return to visit again someday soon. Day after day she went to that place and played her ocarina to match the forest's song.

But he didn't visit again. At least not in this instance.

…

Mido stood before the Great Deku Tree, or at least what was left of their nurturing father. He was filled with anger for Link, the one whom he was sure had killed the tree, "I hope I never see him again!" His words echoed through the grove, as if promising the fulfillment of his wish. In a way, it _was_ fulfilled… in one instance.

This one instance never really happened for the children in the forest, but it was as real to Link and Navi, and part of their memories, so it shall be stated for that importance…


	5. Chapter 5

Darkness began to creep into the forest. Not the cozy darkness of the trees' shelter, but a new darkness, an evil darkness, a darkness that made Kokiri and fairy alike nervous. Mido was especially concerned. "Personally, I blame _him_," he growled. "No good came from Link."

"No good came from you, either, Mido!" Fado shook her puffy blonde curls back and forth.

"Shut up, Fado!"

"Why don't you make me?"

Mido was just about to, when he spotted Saria walking by.

"Saria…" Chalis was saying. "There is great darkness in the woods, especially the _Lost_ Woods. Please, do not venture so deep."

"I can wait there," Saria said. "I can keep my haven safe." For that stump outside the temple was a home to her.

"You mean you're not coming back to the forest?" Fado asked.

"I have a duty to this place…" Saria told her. "I can just _feel_ it."

Mido's throat tightened, but he said nothing. He watched as Saria walked away, but he said nothing. He did, however, follow her at a distance. He found a place to successfully guard wherever she was going. The trees were thick, creating a sort of tunnel. He stood at the entrance to that tunnel.

"What are you planning to do?" Tella asked.

"Protect her."

"From who?"

"Whoever could be a threat."

"With what?"

Mido picked up a few stones, acorns, and seeds and put them in his pouch.

…

At her place in front of the temple, a little further from the opposite side of that tunnel, Saria had no idea what Mido was doing. She thought only of Link. The first year passed slowly. Mido was bored, but glad. "As long as I'm bored, that means no danger for Saria," he said.

The other Kokiri went about their usual day-to-day activities. The forest was darker, yes, but as far as the Kokiri knew, there was no one to fear inside the forest. However, the danger was already within the forest. It was placed as soon as Ganondorf accessed the Triforce. And it was in the very place that Saria was guarding.

Mido could not have known that the very threat from which he wished to protect her was coming from within the place she called home. When Saria heard the cries from what she believed to be the forest spirits, she went into the dark place. Mido had no idea.

…

Years continued to pass. That is when Link came through. He made it to Mido, and his eyes grew wide. "Not again!" he mumbled under his breath.

"I can make him move for you," Navi told him.

"No. Wait. He doesn't recognize me. Just as the others didn't."

It was true. Mido looked curiously at the stranger. After all, the garb he was wearing was that of a Kokiri child. However, the stranger was a grown man. No Kokiri grew up that big, and they never would. So Mido held even more suspicion for him.

He was shocked when the man played Saria's Song, but he knew he could trust this man. After all, Saria taught that song to her friends. Only Saria's closest friends knew of that song. "I don't know why, but when I look at you," he grimaced, "I see _him_."

…

Link feared Mido's reaction, but he had to tell him. He had to tell him Saria would never come back to the forest. The worst that could happen would be that Mido blames that stranger for "killing" her as he blamed Link for killing their guardian.

So it was true, he wasn't ever one of them. But somehow, he was still kin. He still deserved better. Navi told him that the kids must learn that Saria is gone, but they must also be told that the forest will be safe.

Mido had to be the first to know. That was Link's decision.

"What?!" Mido gasped. "What did you do?"

"Nothing, Mido. Please listen." Link explained that Saria would forever watch over them. Mido's glare softened, and tears filled in his eyes. Link was shocked to see Mido about to cry. After all of his fears as a child to let his friends see a single tear, here he was watching the very child that bullied _him_ to tears, crying.

"I guess Link…" he stopped. "He's not coming back either… is he?"

Link didn't know what to say. Luckily, Mido continued.

"I would have told him that Saria was waiting for him… because she really liked…" He trailed off again, wiping a tear from his eye. "If you see that kid, tell him that Saria was waitin' for him. Will you?"

Link hesitated, "Uh… yeah. I will."

"And…" Mido looked up at Tella, who Link noticed seemed weary and sullen. "I'm sorry for being mean to him…"

Link was shocked at that.

"Maybe if I hadn't… he hadn't have left… and Saria would have been… happy."

Link bit his lip. Navi looked at Tella. Tella had not looked up at all, otherwise she may have recognized that fairy with Link and may have questioned who the stranger really was.

When they left the forest, Navi had something to say, "That boy was always a troublemaker. A tantrum child who always got his way. Tella should have better controlled him."

Before the encounter, Link would have agreed. Before all this, he would have probably realized that she was right. She was, he knew, but at the same time, he saw Mido in a different light. Mido was Saria's friend. He had always been, though it may not have been obvious to Link. Looking back at his past, he understood why Mido had treated him as he did. If only he had understood before. They could have been good friends.

…

Link had that second chance. In a twist of time, he was brought back to childhood. It was as if he had only been gone a day. Nothing happened in that future, but he remembered it as if it had.

Link came back into the forest. He could barely remember it being so bright. He couldn't remember when shadow actually felt comfortable to him. In those seven years, his body had aged, but his soul had not. But in the time between his awakening and his return to childhood, he had made up for that maturity twofold. He was experienced beyond his years, and especially beyond the forest.

He came to the bridge. The place where Saria had said goodbye. He clutched that ocarina, smiling. He then advanced across the bridge.

"Link!" Domi was there to greet him. "Thank goodness you didn't leave!"

"Actually… I did," Link admitted.

"What?"

"It's about time you all know. I'm not Kokiri."

"I love to say, 'I told you so!'" came a chuckle. Link knew before he turned that it was Mido.

"Hi, Mido," Link extended his hand. He wanted so much to make up for the loss he knew in his future.

Mido spit on it. "I thought you left for good." He crossed his arms and pouted. "Harumph! You shoulda stayed out where you belong!"

Link thought about his future. The future that would never be seen by this Hyrule. Mido had seemed like he changed. He seemed more mature. When Link reminded himself of the seven years, he also noted that that's a short time to Kokiri, especially when comparing it to how long they lived before he was found as a baby. So, in that short time, something had happened. It was the same something that frightened the children and drew Saria to the temple. In truth, he knew Mido probably blamed him. And honestly, he had always thirsted for Saria's attention and approval. Of course Mido would protect her. Maybe it wasn't maturity… Maybe it was merely… _lack of Link_.

He decided he would talk to Saria, for the first time, about her friendship with Mido before he appeared. Maybe that attention he sought actually used to be given to him. Maybe that all changed with the new "baby of the family."


	6. Chapter 6

Link sat with Saria atop her house as she talked to him about what he had asked her. She laughed as she talked about the misadventures she shared with Mido. She even told him that it was Mido who had crafted the ocarinas. Link listened carefully.

Navi, in the meantime, simply oversaw the forest, keeping a watchful eye especially on Mido. Whenever he did the slightest offense, she would come down on him, who usually just shrugged off her scolding. She would then urge Tella to control her child, adding a scoff covering a mumble about how bad of a guardian fairy she was. Tella did not appreciate Navi floating around, but she could not stop it. After all, Navi was the Great Deku Tree's number one. That made her completely number one now. However, there was something that she knew but Navi did not. Something that may mean that there was a new guardian of the forest, and that guardian was not Navi.

…

A chill came quickly through the air and the children shivered. It is important to note that Kokiri Forest had never seen winter. Leaves had never turned a multitude of colors. Trees never shook them from their branches. The forest was in an endless springtime, full of the brightest greens and the darkest browns. Unless a plant was dead, there was no gloom or wilting. The only time the Kokiri were cold was when they were sick. Now the cold was _making_ Mido sick. Tella flew over him nervously. "Mido… Mido…" she couldn't say much more.

Mido shivered under his five blankets. He sneezed. When he opened his eyes, they seemed to be greyish silver. His skin was paling and his freckles had a hint of a silvery blue. It was an odd reaction, Tella believed, so she flew hurriedly out of the tree to find the one person she knew could help.

…

Saria's discussion with Link the other day put her in good spirits. She had actually planned to invite Mido to play a game with her and Link. She was just about to head out when she saw Tella zooming toward her. "Tella!" she gasped. "Whatever's the matter?"

Tella cried out, "It's Mido! He's fallen ill!"

Saria grabbed some herbs and berries as well as a pot of water. She hurried then back to Mido's tree. "Mido…"

Mido was facing the wall, away from Saria. Hearing her voice tied his stomach in a knot. "What do you want?" he growled, for that was all he could do, as his voice was hoarse.

"Tella tells me you're sick. Mido… are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Tella worries too much."

Saria knew he was not fine. She knew that Tella was an excellent guardian fairy to him. She was not overbearing like Chalis sometimes was. "Mido. I was going to invite you out to play in the stream."

Mido turned to her without thinking. He rarely ever did think when Saria was there. With Saria, he was spontaneous and impulsive, which brought them into a lot of trouble way back when. Now, he turned toward her, and she saw his sickly complexion.

"Mido! You _are_ ill!"

Mido finally coughed. He had been straining so long against it. He looked up at her with his now crystally eyes. "I'm fine…" he still tried to say.

Tella shook her head. He did not want to seem weak in front of anyone, let alone Saria. But she knew that Saria was the only one who would be willing to help him. She watched as the girl began to crush the herbs and berries and mix them into the water, which she placed over a flame in the fireplace. "Here… drink this. It should at least help your throat… I don't know what to do about your… complexion, though."

Mido sat up and took the cup from Saria. He sipped it carefully and the color began to return to his face, just from its warmth on his hands and in his throat.

"What's going on, Tella?" Saria asked her. "Why is it so cold?"

"I don't know, Saria…" Tella shook not from the chill, but from fright. She had a bad feeling, a terrible feeling, that made her tingle all over. Mido was the only child who had fallen ill. That had to mean he was targeted. No one would believe her though. After all, as far as they knew, Mido was ordinary. Ordinary… and a bully.

"I'm going to get some more herbs," Saria stood and started to leave. She turned back and looked at Mido. He seemed so helpless, so weak. "Mido…" she whispered. "I'm sorry."

Mido turned to her. He was still sitting up with the cup in his hands. "What?"

"I'm sorry… for making you feel ignored."

Mido's heart twisted in his chest. "S-Saria…"

She smiled at him, then left the tree. Tella looked down at Mido, who was staring in shock where she left. "Saria… She's… I…"

"I know, Mido," Tella said. "She always has been, and _you_ can change."

…

Saria and Chalis went deep into the Lost Woods, but every plant seemed to be coated white. "It's freezing out here… What is this… frost?" She tried to pick some herbs, but they were too cold, and seemed frozen to the ground.

"What have we here?" a voice came from behind her. She turned and saw a man. He was tall, his hair was white, and he was dressed in a blue robe with white designs throughout it. His skin was pale as snow and his eyes were a dark blue. "You have strange potential in you…" He examined her. "Potential that may never come to fruition." His voice was calm and smooth and steady. Saria looked at him carefully. "Yes… But you are not the child for whom I am searching."

"What do you mean?" Saria asked, immediately suspicious.

"I seek a special child. You may know this Kokiri. Actually the child is more accurately a Deku."

"I don't know any Kokiri known as Deku."

"You must be lying!" The man brought up his hand, causing a force to push her into a tree. She gasped and strained. Chalis panicked. "Where is the Deku child?"

"I told you… I've never heard of a Deku-Kokiri!"

Chalis fluttered around the man, desperately trying to get him to stop, but he swatted her away. "You mean to tell me that none of you Kokiri children know the firstborn?"

"Firstborn?" Chalis was the one to ask, from the ground. Saria equaled her question with her eyes.

"Incredible." The man tossed Saria aside beside her fairy and moved on. "Makes me wonder if the child even knows."

…

"Saria!" Mido ran to his friend who lay unconscious next to her again panicked fairy. "What happened?"

"That chilling wind… It's not natural…" Chalis explained. "It's a sorcerer! He's looking for some sort of 'firstborn'!"

Tella froze.

Mido managed to lift Saria. "Firstborn?" he asked.

"I didn't even know the Great Tree had a firstborn," Chalis continued. "What about you, Tella?"

Tella gulped, "L-Let's just… get Saria home."

…

"Mido…" Tella whispered. He was sitting beside Saria with his fists tightened. His eyes would flash green any moment now. "Mido… I…" How could she tell him now? After all these many years, how could she finally tell him now? She very much wished the Great Deku Tree was still alive. He could tell him. He would know what to say.

"That guy's gonna pay!" Mido's eyes were finally green as his fists crumpled the bedsheet.

Tella realized then why she had waited. He was mature enough now to know and do something about it. He had something… some_one_ to fight for, and that was the most important thing. "Mido… come outside with me a minute."

Mido turned to her. The green faded from his eyes as his emotion changed to puzzlement. He left the house with Tella into the chiller air of outside. "Tella?" He was more confused because Tella never really told him to do anything.

"Mido… There's something you need to know. I think it's finally time to tell you." She paused. "Mido… You were always meant to be the leader in this forest. You were meant to be its guardian."

"I thought the Great Deku Tree was the guardian?"

"That he was. But he was your father. And you… you are his firstborn."

Mido was taken aback. "Me?" he asked. "_I'm_ his firstborn?"

"This sorcerer has powerful magic. Magic that affects you more than the others because you are truly Deku. The cold makes you ill as it makes the Deku plants ill. He has power against you… but you have power against him. I don't know quite what to expect from you, but I know you can fight him… and succeed."

"I can fight the one who did this to Saria?"

Tella nodded.

Mido's brow furrowed. "Then lead me to him!"


	7. Chapter 7

Chalis did not know what was going on out there where Tella and Mido were, but she was not going to sit by any longer. She hurried outside and went straight to Link, for Tella and Mido had already left.

Link was sitting in his tree house, enjoying his downtime now that he was home. But it was not to last. Chalis anxiously told him of everything that had happened. Link was as confused as Chalis and Saria regarding the firstborn, but he understood why the sorcerer saw potential in her. She was destined to be the sage of the forest, in a different future, that is. He jumped down from his porch and ran to Saria's house.

Saria had awoken and was sitting up in bed. "Saria!" Chalis called.

"What's going on?" she asked. "Who was that man?"

"Saria…" Link started. "Who's the firstborn? Are you sure you guys never heard anything about it growing up?"

"I'm certain. The Great Deku Tree treated each of his children equally. He loved us all the same and the fairies—" she gasped. "The fairies!"

"What?" Chalis asked.

"The fairy of the firstborn would know that her child is the firstborn!"

Link nodded, "Alright, let's go!"

…

Mido ran deeper into the woods. He knew he was going the right way because it was colder and colder, which meant it was harder and harder for him to breathe. He stopped after a while and caught his breath. "Where are you?!" he called. "I'm the one you're looking for! Come and get me!"

"Oh, well, isn't that convenient for me?" a chilling voice.

Mido turned. "So who are you, anyway?"

"Young Deku-Kokiri, you may call me Winter, for that is what I will bring to this forest."

"Not if I can help it!" Mido's eyes flashed green, just like they always did when he was angry. The green in his eyes was a symbol of his power as the forest guardian's firstborn. His Deku powers were released then, because he knew of them and he willed it of them. Roots came up out of the ground and shot at Winter, who was shocked at the attack. He was hit down and vines wrapped around him.

"What astounding power from such a small child!"

"I am no child!" Mido corrected him. "I am a Kokiri!" The roots took the sorcerer and stretched him limb from limb. A great gust of wind blew through and the roots released Winter. He was blown away, far away, deeper into the wood. Mido gasped and fell to his knees, trembling.

"Mido!" Tella came down to him. "Are you alright?"

"That's… exhausting…" he huffed.

"Let's get some rest, yes?" Tella requested.

Mido nodded and stood. He stretched out his arms and neck, for he felt unusually stiff. Tella led him home, but all of the Kokiri seemed to be gathered around for something. "What's going on?" Mido questioned as they arrived.

"Mido!" Navi shouted. "Where were you, boy?"

Link heard his fairy's shouts and looked up from the center of the crowd. He pushed through the Kokiri children and approached Mido, with Saria right behind him. "Mido, are you alright?" Saria asked, concerned. "You look much better…"

"Saria! You're alright! Thank goodness." Mido pushed by Link and went to Saria, but Chalis flew in front.

"Mido! Do you have any idea what's happened here? You should have never expected Saria to get those herbs! And when she was injured all you did was run off? You didn't even stay with her! And to make everything worse…" She took a deep breath, for she was trembling and huffing. "Tella! You never said a word! Even after we told you what happened! Even after we told you that sorcerer was searching for the firstborn!"

Tella gasped, "You know?"

"Simple process of elimination."

"What's going on?" Navi asked. "No one will answer me!" For she had been hovering around, requesting that answer for awhile.

Mido tightened his fists. "I've got the power to stop the sorcerer! And I did!" He smiled and winked at Saria. "He won't be coming by and messing with you anymore, Saria!"

"Mido… How… How are you the…" she grew quiet.

Mido looked at all the Kokiri. "Hey guys! I'm the firstborn of the Great Tree! I was always meant to be the boss, the guardian! I've got it, you guys!"

Link shook his head. "Not to have delusions of grandeur or anything."

"You're one to talk oh, 'legendary hero'!" Mido sneered. "I actually just blew Winter out of the forest!"

"Then why is it still cold, hotshot?" Fado asked.

Mido started to retort, but he couldn't. Why _was_ it still cold?

"Because he hasn't finished me," that chilling Winter voice again.

"Winter!" Mido turned.

"You really think I would be finished that easily, boy?" Winter laughed. "I was merely testing your skill." He raised his hand, forming icy cold wind in his palm. He then thrust it at Mido, who was blown back by the attack, into the other Kokiri children.

"Guys! Get out of here!" Link called, drawing his sword. "Saria, get them all to safety!"

"Sure thing, Link!" Saria began to guide the other children away.

"Leave it to me, Link! _I'm _the hero of _this_ story!" Mido stated confidently.

"Not likely, Mido," Link said.

"You're more like the damsel in distress that the badguy is after," Navi noted.

"Shut up, pixie dust!" Mido growled.

"Navi…" Tella started. "It's about time you knew your place. I was the Great Tree's right hand fairy before you even existed! Why do you think I had the job of raising his firstborn?"

"Which you did poorly, Tella," Navi stated.

"Stop it, you two!" Link shouted.

"Haha! This is quite amusing!" Winter laughed.

Mido tightened his fists and thrust them forward, which made thick plants grow out of the ground and go towards Winter. Link stared in shock, but he quickly snapped out of it when Winter froze them before they reached him. Mido shivered. More forcefully he brought his hands straight up, causing a tree trunk to emerge from underneath Winter, lifting him up into the air. Vines then wrapped themselves around him.

"Mido… how in the world…?" Link's jaw seemed to be close to the ground.

Mido fell to his knees again.

Winter laughed. "You fool! You don't even know how to use your powers!"

"What battle… are you watching?" Mido huffed.

Winter broke out of the tree's grasp with shards of ice. "Let me enlighten you, dear Deku-Kokiri… Your powers are limited… perhaps because they were not exercised."

"What do you mean?" Tella asked nervously.

"Hahahaha! Do you feel stiff, boy?"

Mido gasped. How did he know?

"You are Deku. Do you know what that makes you?" He smirked. "A plant. If you dive deep within your powers, they are certainly powerful, but if you exhaust yourself, you will eventually petrify yourself like a tree."

Mido's eyes widened as he looked down at his body. It _was_ looking a little… _wooden_.

Link took his sword and ran at Winter with a shout, but the sorcerer easily sent him away with a gust of a blizzard.

Mido looked back at him. Link was covered in snow. He looked back at Winter, who lifted his hand to him. Suddenly, he felt as if ice was freezing him from the inside out. "Augh!" he cried.

"Forest boy, you are mine!" he sneered. "All your powers… are useless against me! And this forest will see an eternal winter!"

"N-No…" Mido struggled against the cold, bringing his hands forward, in front of him. Vines came out from around him and attacked the man, breaking his grasp on Mido. Mido gasped. His legs were stiff and almost attached to the ground. The rest of his skin was light bark-brown. He was starting to petrify. If he used any more of his power, he may become a Mido-shaped tree.

A boomerang whizzed by his head, flying at Winter, hitting right on target. It whipped back around and landed in Link's hand. He smiled and gave a thumbs up to Mido. "Mido…" Tella hovered. "Can you move?"

"Barely…"

"Let's get you out of here."

Mido struggled to walk off, but he made it in his house, where he sat to rest.

"Link can handle things for now. You need to rest," Tella assured him.

Mido nodded reluctantly. He hated that Link was going to do all the work now, but there was no way he could handle it out there.

Meanwhile, Navi was helping Link. "I can't believe Mido was the firstborn!" she was saying. "I was in total shock! I was speechless!"

"Which is saying a lot for you," Link commented.

"Watch it!"

Link used a fire arrow to try to melt the sorcerer's powers, but the fire was easily glazed over. "You're powerful… but I faced Ganon, and no one's worse than him!"

"You sure about that?" Navi asked as Winter blew him backwards in a pile of snow again.

"It's all relative, I guess…"

Winter raised his arms, and clouds began to cover the forest. The clouds were rainclouds, but surely rain would not fall at this temperature. Crystal snowflakes fell instead.

Mido looked out his window. He was recovering, but not quickly enough. He ran outside, but Tella tried to stop him. "Mido! What are you doing?" she asked.

Meanwhile, Saria had stepped outside of her house to investigate, unbeknownst to Mido.

"Tella… he's making it snow! It's going to kill the forest!" he exclaimed.

Tella gasped, "No! Mido! If you use your whole power—"

"I know, but what choice do I have? He's going to _kill the forest_!"

"M-Mido…"

"I'm the guardian, right? The Great Deku Tree's heir! There's more to being boss than bossing people around!" Mido tightened his fists. "I've got to protect this forest. And if I use my whole power, I think that I can!"

"Mido!" Tella cried, but there was no stopping him.


	8. Chapter 8

Saria watched in awe as Mido ran off to battle. He had finally become his greatest potential. Mido had become the boy she had always seen in him. He had matured, and he had become a worthy guardian of the forest. He truly cared for the forest and everything and every_one_ in it… not just her.

And so he ran out and took Winter away with roots and vines again, blowing him out of the home area of Kokiri Forest, blowing him deep into the Lost Woods. Link tried to follow, but Farore's wind was too fast.

Mido stood firm and tightened his fists. He focused all the energy he could inside him, closing his eyes and beginning to hum. The hum turned into a great cry as he shouted out and raised up his fists beside his head. Shouting loudly, vines and roots circled him.

Winter was terrified. "Y-You can't use all this power…" he tried to reason with him. "You'll… You'll…"

"I know," Mido was still crying out. "But you have threatened my home! You have threatened the peace of this wood. And I can't allow that! I am Mido, firstborn of the Great Tree, Deku-Kokiri guardian of the forest! And I—say—you—shall—not—threaten—this—sacred—place!" With a great burst of what can only be described as guardian, goddess, and great magic of the forest child, Winter was defeated.

When Link finally arrived, he gasped at the sight. There, in a clearing of the forest, was what seemed to be a wooden statue with a fairy fluttering beside it, crying over it. "Tella?" he whispered. The fairy turned to him and continued to weep. "Mido… Who would have ever thought _you'd _be a hero?"

…

All of the forest heard of the story of Mido, what he had done for them, the hero that he had become. In addition, Link told Saria about her story, the story that would never happen, but the potential she had. She bit her lip and ran to her house. "It could have very well been me…" she began to cry. "It should have been…"

"Mido was able to reconcile himself with everyone in the forest," Chalis reasoned. "It was good that it was him and not you. Now you can be the guardian of the forest. You can protect this home."

"Can you… give me some time to myself for a little while?" Saria asked.

"Sure…" Chalis remained in the house as Saria left.

…

Link rolled over in his bed. He couldn't get to sleep. He wished with all his heart he could have gotten there sooner, before Mido had used all his energy, before he had become a petrified Deku Tree.

Link sighed, "To think… this whole time… _he_ wasn't Kokiri either… He was _Deku_." He looked up at the ceiling. "Mido… You were always a good guy… weren't you? I mean… to be best friends with Saria, you kind of had to be…" He sighed again. "I wish… I could have known you as a friend. And I wish… that Saria knew how you really felt…" He turned on his side and tried to close his eyes. "You protected Saria in the future I know… You protected _all of us_ in this present."

…

The moon was high and the stars were hidden. All was quiet in the forest except for small footsteps, steady, silent. Saria approached the petrified body of Mido. She looked up at him and wiped a tear from her cheek. She lifted something in her right hand. It was a Deku Mask Flower. "You once told me this was your favorite flower." She spun it between her middle finger and thumb. "It was so hideous… but then… it bloomed into a beautiful blossom." She looked again at the wood. "You're like this flower, Mido. When we were growing up…" she smiled, "you were always a troublemaker. But you always made me laugh. But soon, you're antics became more cruel and unkind… you became hideous, Mido." She lowered her head. Just then, Tella appeared, but she immediately hid behind Mido's head when she saw Saria, who raised her head again toward him, "Link told me that in his future you protect me. I don't doubt it. I always saw your old self in your eyes whenever you looked at me. I could see it, Mido, and I longed to bring it out." She smiled sadly and stepped forward. "You've become beautiful again, my friend. You've blossomed." She placed the small plant on the stump that was his feet, turned, and walked away as silently as she had come.

Tella remained, watching her walk off into the distance. "Mido… If only you knew…" she whispered. "I wonder… can you hear what we say to you?" She looked up at him. "Oh, I've lost you and the Great Deku Tree! What am I to do? I need someone… someone to tell me what to do…"

…

The days passed quietly. The Kokiri were solemn, especially Saria and Link. "Oh, come on, guys! Brighten up!" Fado tried one morning. "What do you say we play in the stream?"

The others smiled. "That sounds like fun! You know how I love to swim!" Tiso exclaimed.

"Race you there!" Lafa yelled.

The Kokiri sprinted off to the stream.

Saria and Link followed behind slowly. "I suppose… he would want us to have fun," Saria reasoned. "He always loved to have fun."

Link nodded, but he couldn't agree. Mido hated him. It was no secret. He wanted to be worthy of whatever fun he would have. He wanted to make it up to Mido. "I wish we could have been friends," he repeated.

"Mido and you would have been great friends…" Saria sighed. "The fault is mine."

"You can't blame yourself, Saria!"

"Mido was jealous of you, Link. I don't blame him for being so. I… I ignored him…" She began to cry. "We used to have so much fun together! He would always make me laugh… I would make him smile… He… He made me this ocarina! And I made it something for the two of _us_… It was _my_ fault… Oh, Mido! Why… Why…" She sniffed and sobbed into Link's shoulder.

…

That was the last time Saria really cried for Mido. Day by day it did not get easier, but she and Link shared the same thoughts. Being with Link made it easier to bear each day, she felt. Chalis was glad that she was feeling better.

Tella remained with Mido, which was a good thing, because she began to notice a change. Slowly… but surely… he was beginning to recover, just as he had when he was not quite so petrified. He was becoming Kokiri again, and when he was, Tella cried as she hugged him, or rather, his ear.

Mido grinned and huffed. He ran out of the Lost Woods, anxious to see Saria. He made it to the edge of the small cliff and leaned against the fence, ready to shout out at the Kokiri children, but he didn't.

"Mido… what's wrong?" Tella asked.

Mido tightened his grip on the fence. His eyes were on Saria. She was with Link, as always. Mido shook his head. "I'm better off protecting the forest from a distance," he said.

"What do you mean?"

"They don't need to see I'm alive. They're doing fine. Besides, I've always worked better on my own. I've never needed anyone. Plus, I'm _Deku_ and they're Kokiri. I don't belong with them... never have. I'm better off alone."

"That's not true." Mido turned to her. "You were always at your best... with Saria."

They both knew how true that was. Saria was always a good influence on him, but besides that, he always tried to be worthy of her attention, to earn her affections, so he would be on better behavior with her. But Mido's face did not change in the silence that went between them then. "Maybe..." he finally said. "But she's at her worst when she's with me. You can see her down there. She's better off without me."

"That's not true, Mido!" Tella tried. "You should have seen her when she came to visit you!"

Mido shook his head and headed deep within the Lost Woods. "I'll protect the forest… I'll stay ever connected to it… But they don't need me connected to _them_."


	9. Chapter 9

Mido did not truly want to be alone. He was just stubborn and miserable. He was still jealous of Link, and he wanted to pout in peace. But Tella would not have that. She had spent all of Mido's life to make the child happy. He was the firstborn of the deity of the forest. She had been so lax in her parenting of him, and she was not about to let that be in vain. She flew off into Kokiri Forest and fluttered to Saria whom she heard talking to Link. She was asking him to come along to visit Mido.

"Sure, Saria, of course," Link agreed.

Tella fluttered back to the area where Mido used to stand. When Saria and Link approached, the girl gasped. "Where is he?" she ran to where he used to be. "No! Mido!"

Tella hurried to fetch her child. She led him to where Saria and Link stood. He groaned. "Tella," he whispered. "Give it up! She's fine without me. She has _Link_," he noted with attitude.

"Mido! Where is he?" Saria began to sob. She fell to her knees and wept. Link didn't know what to do. All he could do was stand above her, staring at the place where Mido's body once stood.

Mido peeked from behind a tree at the sight. Saria… was weeping… for _him_. She cared… about _him_. She was with Link, but she didn't seem to notice right now. He hesitated. How he longed for Saria to look at him as she always used to, but now, she had _Link_. Link could grow up. Link was _mature_. He was actually known as a hero. Saria didn't need Mido for anything now. He slid down the tree and sat on its roots. "She doesn't need me," he said to Tella now. "Why should I even go through the trouble? I've got to make something of myself without her. Who needs her?!"

Tella didn't know what to say. Mido, she realized, had always been miserable. He was not happy as she thought he was. He thirsted for attention, and he was mad unless he got it. Saria's attention was usually on him until Link came into Kokiri Forest, and though that friendship was offered, Mido was selfish. He didn't want that boy there, and he didn't want him taking Saria's attention and time. "Mido…" Tella took a deep breath, and finally, _finally_, scolded, "Mido you are selfish!"

Mido's eyes flew to her. He was taken aback at her outburst.

"Mido! How can you sit there and expect my pity for you? You were always a troublesome boy! You were always nasty and cruel and selfish! You never thought of anyone else! Anything you did for others you did for your own attention!"

Mido turned away.

Tella sighed, calming herself. "Until now."

He looked back up at her, his eyes beginning to sparkle with the beginnings of tears.

"Mido… you protected the forest… for the _forest's_ sake. You have grown up. You've become the boy that you were always meant to be. You've become—"

"Beautiful…" Mido whispered, echoing Saria's words, for he _had_ heard them. He looked over at her, but what he saw was Link comforting her. Mido growled, and his fists tightened.

"Mido…"

He sighed and stood, stepping out from his hiding space. Chalis was the first to see him. She gasped at the sight of him. Saria looked up at her fairy and turned to see what she was staring at. Link turned as well. They, too, gasped.

"Mido?" Saria began to stand up.

His eyes were downcast, and his throat was tight.

Suddenly, he felt a jolt as Saria ran and wrapped her arms around him. Mido tensed at her sudden embrace, not returning her hug.

"Mido…" Link stuttered, "y-you're… alive…"

Mido glared at him. "Of course! I'm the _Great Mido_, after all!"

"You are great, Mido!" Saria squeezed him tight. "You are a great hero!"

Mido's look softened, but he kept his eyes focused on Link. "Hear that, oh legendary one? _I'm_ a hero!"

"You wear the title well, Mido," Link agreed.

Saria released him and wiped her eyes. "Mido… let's go home…"

Mido scratched the back of his head, and Tella nudged him forward.

"You've done well, Mido," she whispered in his ear as they walked home. "The Great Deku Tree would be proud."

Mido finally smiled.

…

Fado, Domi, Doti, Lafa, Remi, and Tiso stared in shock and awe when they saw Mido with Link and Saria. They surrounded him, asking him what had really happened, whether he really died, and what his powers were like. Mido enjoyed the attention, as all should have expected.

Saria smiled as she watched Mido dramatize all that happened. Link, too, stood to the side happily. He crossed his arms and stood tall. Mido had become that hero in this time as well. Actually, he had become a _better_ hero. In the future Link knew, Mido was defending Saria, caring only about her, wishing only for her safety, for _his_ sake. This time, Mido had defended the entire forest. And not because of selfish intentions. In fact, he sacrificed himself for the good of the Kokiri. If that wasn't heroic, Link didn't know what was.

Link finally approached Mido with an outstretched hand when the crowd cleared. "Mido… I was hoping… that we could… at least _try_… to be friends…" He gave a half-smile and a wink. "After all, we both aren't exactly _Kokiri_, right?"

Mido scowled. Tella and Saria laughed. Then, the new hero eventually smirked and nodded. He clasped the legendary hero's hand. "Fine, Hylian."

Saria's eyes filled with tears one last time, but this time, tears of joy.

And the forest was, from then on, a peaceful place. Mido was truly a worthy guardian, and he was able to use his powers to grow and heal plants around the forest. The other children were able to respect him now that _he_ respected _them_. And he and Saria were once again inseparable.

…

Link's story continued when he went out in search of Navi, but that is a story that most have heard. Meanwhile, the story of Mido is complete, and he makes his place with the legends. And so Link, Saria, and Mido were known henceforth: hero, sage, and guardian.

Note: I try to tell a lot of people about how much I love Mido in OoT. Don't get me wrong, when I first played through I was the one breathing that sigh "Not him again..." just like Link did in this story. But then I realized something... he was protecting Saria. What a friend, right? I had to explore that... I also needed to explore another mystery that had two points to it: Mido could leave the forest at the credits of OoT (Sure it didn't happen in THIS timeline) but how could he do that? Because he wasn't really Kokiri. Another mystery: Mido is the name of one of the towns named after the Sages... why? Because he's a guardian of the forest, perhaps as revered as the Deku Tree or even Valoo and Jabu Jabu... who knows?

So anyway, just wanted to explain what made me write this. I hope you liked it! (Though I guess if you've read this far, you must have... :D)


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